Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Taggers by Miles Brandt has within its pages a lot to admire. There are a couple twists that actually made me gasp, one near the beginning that sets the entire novel in motion, and one at the end. I can often see twists coming from a long way off, but this one, the one at the end, completely blindsided me. I think because there's so much that kept my mind fully engaged along the way, I never had time to consider how it would all end. It's packed with spiritual and life philosophy, interesting characters and a very engaging love story.

One of the things I admire most about this book is the way it's written. Using the tools of his trade, right down to paragraph and sentence structure, word choice and tense, Mr. Brandt manages to portray the mental state of his characters, who by the way are escaped psychiatric patients.

I also admire the author's willingness, his fearlessness, to go to uncomfortable places and show us a world none of us would ever want to visit outside fiction. He does so with great honesty and skill, making the tough moments bearable by keeping it real and giving readers a glimpse into broken minds.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

The kindle edition of the long awaited New Sun Rising is now available. It's been a little over a year since the earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan, but they still need a ton of help. All profits from this anthology, filled with artwork, photography, poetry and stories, will go the the Japanese Red Cross. Please support this cause and help spread the word. Purchase it at Amazon.com